Hello Everyone:
This year has proven to be as unpredictable and challenging as years come. The COVID-19 crisis has affected all nonprofits and has presented unique challenges and opportunities for Five Keys. As we move forward, we will continue to be affected by the ramifications of the pandemic and health and safety precautions in the weeks and months ahead.
But the good news is that there is healing on the horizon.
The promise of multiple vaccines, our renewed faith in a democracy, and hopefully a successful, peaceful transition of our nation’s leadership have great potential to take us forward with a bold, progressive vision that inspires change that will address the needs of all people — left, right and center — struggling to survive and thrive during these challenging times.
At the same time, we must remember that no matter what side you were on during the election, this is not the time for Americans to live in a house divided. Our work is not done and to move forward, we must heal those divides and hold close our loved ones, friends, and colleagues through these trying times so we can bring our dreams of a brighter future into being.
I continue to be overwhelmingly grateful for the hard work, perseverance and nimbleness of our Five Keys staff and the communities we serve. We have stayed committed to our mission of improving and leading forward the lives of those hardest impacted by the critical issues of health, justice, employment, and housing. Through our work to prevent and end homelessness, to educate the incarcerated and at-risk community members, and build a workforce, we seek to address the systemic issues of racial inequality that we all see around us and hopefully inspire change across the nation.
As we pause, reflect and recharge following the 2020 election results, several valuable lessons emerge: a silver lining is that we now have new insights on how to improve our systems and public health. When we return from the lockdown, we will have a more informed framework to create realistic plans for serving our community in the most at-risk, high-poverty and crime-ridden neighborhoods of the San Francisco and Los Angeles areas.
As we move forward, we will continue to invest in the humanity of people on the margins so that they can be self-determined to change their lives. I’m excited about some of our new programs which will add to our efforts to create a footprint of change. They include the Migrant Education farm program in Riverside County, the Weber Welding program, and the likelihood of new school programs in San Luis Obispo and Sacramento.
I am especially proud of our Home Free program which is our small token to try to repair the damage done to women who were incarcerated for 20, 30, and 40 years for crimes that aren’t even crimes, defending themselves against brutal violence. We hope through the next 10, 20, and 30 years we can offer them a beautiful place to live where we can start to repair the damage done to them and restore their dignity. We are grateful for all the people who volunteered weekend after weekend to help create this beautiful HOME including the Academy of Art University, CityBuild, G7A Architects, Gelfand Architects, McGuire and Hester, Mithun, Rebuilding Together/SHE BUILD, the San Francisco Office of Economic Workforce and Development (OEWD), Swinerton construction, author and motivational guru Tony Robbins, Alex Tourk/Ground Floor Public Affairs and so many more (see complete list).
I am very grateful for all of you who help us serve people in 25 jails, seven homeless centers, and provide employment for more than 350 ex-offenders who are our returning citizens. Know that the work you are doing is having a tremendous impact on the lives of many, many people, bringing them to hope in these challenging times.
Gratefully,
Steve Good
President & CEO